A Zhong’s father’s house had three rooms in total.
One bed was placed in the north and another in the south, serving as bedrooms, with the living room in the middle.
Because Zhou Jinbei’s arrival was so sudden, A Zhong hadn’t thought about her staying there. Thus, aside from his own room, he genuinely had no place for her to stay.
It was a winter morning, past five o’clock, and the sky was hazy.
To avoid waking his father, the two tiptoed into the house.
A Zhong turned on the light, pointed to his bed for her, and then took a coat from the closet, preparing to go out.
“You sleep in my bed first. If you need to use the toilet, go to the outdoor bathroom. I’ll stay in the living room for a while.”
Zhou Jinbei quickly called out to him, “Why are you going to the living room on such a cold day?”
There was only one bed in the room. With the distinction between male and female, it was clear they couldn’t share.
A Zhong said, “There isn’t enough space to sleep. It’s almost dawn anyway, I’ll just stay outside for a bit.”
“…You haven’t slept all night. The living room is cold and drafty, you won’t be able to sleep. Aren’t you tired?”
It was a lie to say he wasn’t tired.
But he couldn’t just stay because of that.
A Zhong forced himself, “It’s fine, I’m used to staying up late. I’m not tired.”
Zhou Jinbei felt a pang of guilt.
“But that was usually when you were working, and my second brother had paid. Now that you finally have a holiday, you can’t even get a good night’s sleep.”
“…”
“I know what you mean. It’s about the male-female divide. Don’t worry, even if I left you alone, you wouldn’t dare do anything to me.”
“If I’m not afraid, what are you afraid of? At worst, we can sleep with our clothes on. It’s fine.”
A Zhong was already a mature man, and he was in his own home. He wasn’t afraid of gossip.
But how old was Zhou Jinbei?
A delicate young lady, squeezing into the same bed with him – wasn’t that inappropriate?
A Zhong still wanted to insist, but Zhou Jinbei’s face fell.
“What? Are you looking down on me? Are you afraid I’ll do something to you?”
“…”
“Or, you want to make me feel guilty and are trying all sorts of ways to make me leave quickly?”
A Zhong was speechless, “I didn’t mean that…”
“Then stop the nonsense. Hurry, the bed is cold. You go up first and warm the blankets.”
She said it as simply as children playing house, without any hint of romantic involvement. If he pushed back any further, it would make him seem sleazy.
A Zhong had no choice but to hang his coat back up. “Alright then. We’ll make do and sleep for a bit. I’ll tidy up another bed tomorrow during the day.”
He lay down on the bed fully clothed. Zhou Jinbei went to the bathroom, turned off the light, gently lifted the quilt, and lay down beside him.
Although they weren’t close to each other, and it wasn’t the first time A Zhong had lain beside a woman, his heart couldn’t help but pound uncontrollably, making him utterly unable to sleep…
Zhou Jinbei was genuinely tired. She felt strangely at ease and soon, after snuggling into the covers, sleepiness overcame her.
However, this simple house made of color steel tiles had no air conditioning and wasn’t insulated against the cold, making it truly chilly.
She could only edge closer to A Zhong.
“It’s cold… Why is your arm so warm?”
“…”
“Let me lean on you for warmth.”
She hugged his arm.
A Zhong’s heart pounded even harder, not knowing what to do.
Soon, Zhou Jinbei, hugging his arm, rested her head on his shoulder and fell into a deep sleep.
Half of her face was buried in the quilt, and the hot air from her breath sprayed onto A Zhong’s shoulder.
A Zhong felt so hot that sweat broke out on his back.
One person slept, while the other lay wide awake.
Before long, dawn broke.
The diligent A Zhong’s father made stirring sounds as he woke up, washed himself, and went to feed the cows and sheep.
Then came the clanging symphony of pots and pans as he started preparing breakfast.
Since he couldn’t sleep, A Zhong thought he’d go help his father.
But as he tried to pull his arm away, Zhou Jinbei, as if afraid he’d run off, held on tightly.
To avoid waking her, he could only continue lying there.
Perhaps his father would come in to call him for breakfast once it was ready. A Zhong didn’t want him to see an awkward scene or overthink things.
So, he used his free hand to pick up his phone and sent his father a WeChat message.
Unexpectedly, his father saw it quickly.
He replied with a “Got it” in perfect cooperation.
With no one disturbing him, and as time passed, A Zhong gradually relaxed.
At some point, he actually fell asleep too.
The two of them slept soundly until past two in the afternoon before waking up.
Feeling the person beside him move, A Zhong quickly opened his eyes and saw Zhou Jinbei propping herself up with her arm, about to get out of bed.
“You’re awake?”
He quickly sat up as well.
Zhou Jinbei’s face was flushed from sleep, her eyes wide and clear.
She brushed back her dark hair. “Mm. Awake. I slept so comfortably, so warm.”
“…”
“But I’m hungry. I don’t know if it’s still snowing outside, I want to get up and look.”
A Zhong went down first, handed her his down jacket, and climbed up to the window to take a look.
“The snow has stopped. There’s only a thin layer of snow on the ground. It’s unlikely we can have a snowball fight.”
“I’ll go cook for you first. While there’s still time, if you want to go to Harbin, you still can.”
In the living room, his father wasn’t there, but the fire in the stove was burning brightly.
A pressure cooker sat on the stove, and A Zhong didn’t know what was being stewed or for how long, but a sweet aroma filled the air.
A Zhong opened the living room door to find him, while Zhou Jinbei put on her clothes and went to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, there were only two toothbrushes, both blue.
One was well-worn, its bristles frayed, and the handle bore the marks of time – clearly his father’s.
The other was clean and neat, with an electric handle – clearly A Zhong’s.
Zhou Jinbei didn’t have a toothbrush, and she didn’t mind A Zhong’s bad breath. She took his, rinsed it briefly, squeezed some toothpaste on it, and started brushing.
When she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face and came out of the bathroom, the room was quiet. A Zhong and his father had disappeared somewhere.
Zhou Jinbei was uncomfortably hungry. Seeing two covered dinner plates on the table, she opened them to check.
Inside were two leftover dishes, one meat and one vegetable.
Though not particularly fancy, they looked appetizing. She directly took chopsticks from the side, squatted down, and began to eat.
It was delicious.
A Zhong’s father, as expected of a seasoned chef who raised his child alone, made truly delicious food.
With a creak, the door opened.
Zhou Jinbei was in the process of stuffing food into her mouth when the person who entered met her gaze.
A Zhong’s father had just returned from a friend’s house and was startled to see a young and beautiful girl sitting in his home.
A Zhong had mentioned bringing a friend back, but not a girlfriend.
This…
Zhou Jinbei quickly stood up with her chopsticks. “You must be Uncle Zhong?”
“Hello, I am Zhou Jinbei, A Zhong’s friend. I apologize for the unannounced visit and disturbing you.”
That brat! He didn’t say his girlfriend was coming!
And I haven’t washed my hair or changed into new clothes!
Although Zhong’s father was surprised, he was mostly delighted.
Seeing Zhou Jinbei extend her hand to him, he wiped his hand on his coat and quickly shook hers.
“Not at all, Xiao Zhou, you are too polite. I am more than happy to have you visit my home. How could you be disturbing?”
“Quick, quick, sit down! Are you just waking up? Are you hungry? Where is A Zhong? That brat, how could he let you eat leftovers? And cold ones at that!”